The invention is a flotation device enabling armored combat vehicles to "swim" across bodies of water too deep for fording. Typical flotation devices for armored vehicles include a wall-like curtain erected about the upper periphery of the vehicle, as presently used on the U.S. Army's Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The curtain type of flotation device on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle has several problems. First, the turret gun is located lower on vehicle than the upper rim of curtain, so the gun can not be fired at an angle of less than about 15 degrees above the horizontal without damaging the curtain. Second, the vehicle crew can not see past the curtain from within the vehicle, so that a crew member must partly exit the vehicle and risk enemy fire to see where the vehicle is going. Third, the vehicle crew must exit the vehicle to erect or remove the curtain, possibly again exposing themselves to enemy fire. Fourth, installing a curtain on a unit such as the Bradley Fighting Vehicle takes 45 minutes or longer, thereby delaying the availability of this unit for combat.
To overcome disadvantages of the existing flotation devices, we propose a new, self deployed, self retracting flotation device. The new device is located along the lower lateral edges of vehicle so as not to interfere with operation of the turret gun or interfere with the vehicle crew's vision from within the vehicle. The new device has air bags inflatable by operating a switch in the vehicle, so that the crew need not exit the vehicle or expose itself to enemy fire to deploy the device. The new device deploys or retracts quickly, taking seven to eight minutes to perform either function. Further, the new flotation device increases the effective width of the vehicle so that the vehicle rides more steadily in the water and provides a more stable firing platform for the turret gun.